Molly Shaffer Van Houweling takes Womens UCI Hour Record

11953466_10207506190956857_1526875784730827192_oMolly Shaffer Van Houweling broke the UCI Hour Record on September 12, 2015, at the Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She rode 46.274 kilometres in 60 minutes on the high-altitude track.

She was the second female rider to go after cycling’s iconic record since its rules changed in May 2014, the first being British rider Dame Sarah Storey.

Van Houweling is the current holder of the US Hour Record. She is also a five-time UCI Amateur Road World Champion, most recently winning the road race and time trial titles at the 2014 UCI World Cycling Tour Final in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Van Houweling now lives in Berkeley, California, where she is Professor of Law and Associate Dean at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Van Houweling’s UCI Hour Record comes 60 years after the first mark (38.473km) was set by Soviet athlete Tamara Novikova in 1955. The existing record of 46.065km was established in Mexico City in 2003 by the then World Champion and Olympic gold medallist Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel, of the Netherlands.

Congratulations Molly, from all the CyclingShorts.cc Team!

UCI Track Cycling World Cup – Day 3 Report

Men’s Sprint

 

GOLD – Germany (BOETTICHER)

SILVER – Germany (FOERSTEMANN)

BRONZE – Rusvelo (DMITRIEV)

 

An all-Germany final saw Friday night’s Team Sprint gold medallists Robert Foerstemann and Stefan Boetticher go head to head for gold in the Men’s Sprint final. It was Boetticher who got the better of his countryman, winning the first match and taking the second with a stunning sprint in the final 200m that saw him take gold in emphatic style and bring the UCI Track Cycling World Cup to a fitting end.

The bronze medal match was contested by Spain’s Juan Gascon Peralta and Denis Dmitriev of the Rusvelo team who needed only two matches to beat his rival and claim the bronze.

Great Britain’s representation came in the form of Olympic Team Sprint gold medallist Philip Hindes who finished 12th in the competition overall.

Olympic champion Jason Kenny did not  feature in the Sprint event after a heavy fall in the Keirin final on Saturday night where his World Cup was cut short with a broken collarbone.

 

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Women’s Keirin

 

GOLD – Germany (VOGEL)

SILVER – Petroholding Leningrad (GNIDENKO)

BRONZE – Hong Kong (LEE)

 

Germany’s in form Kristina Vogel picked up her second gold medal of the week, adding Keirin gold to the Sprint she won on Saturday night. Silver went to Ekaterina Gnidenko, racing for the Petroholding Leningrad team, and bronze went to Hong Kong’s Wai Sze Lee.

Great Britain’s Becky James qualified for the final and was unlucky not to finish on the podium after leading out after the exit of the derny.

Great Britain’s Jess Varnish missed out on the final after finishing 6th in her second round heat. After racing in the Team Sprint, Sprint and 500m TT fatigue was evident in Varnish and she finished 9th overall.

 

Women’s Omnium

 

GOLD – Great Britain (TROTT)

SILVER – Australia (ANKUDINOFF)

BRONZE – Russia (BALABOLINA)

 

Olympic and World Omnium champion Laura Trott won the Women’s Omnium title in dramatic style, beating rival Ashlee Ankudinoff from Australia into silver in the final heat of the sixth event, the 500m Time Trial. Going into the final event Ankudinoff was two points ahead of Trott with Trott needing to beat her rival by two places to secure gold. An aggressive ride in which Trott gave everything she had saw her deliver once again, finishing with the second fastest time behind Russian Tamara Balabolina which was enough to secure gold and bring the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome crowd to their feet. Victory in the 500m Time Trial meant Balabolina did enough to take home bronze for Russia.

 

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Women’s Omnium

 

Omnium I – Flying Lap

Rank 1 Australian (ANKUDINOFF) – 14.340

Rank 2 Fullgass.org (OLABERRIA DORRONSORO) – 14.364

Rank 3 Poland (PAWLOWSKA) – 14.524

 

Omnium II – Points Race 20km

Rank 1 Bulguria (SHARAKOVA)

Rank 2 Lithuania (TREBAITE)

Rank 3 Mexico (ARREOLA NAVARRO)

 

Omnium III – Elimination Race

Rank 1 Great Britain (TROTT)

Rank 2 Poland (PAWLOWSKA)

Rank 3 Russia (BALABOLINA)

 

Omnium IV – Individual Pursuit 3Km

 

Rank 1 Great Britain (TROTT)

Rank 2 Australia (ANKUDINOFF)

Rank 3 Poland (PAWLOWSKA)

 

Omnium V – Scratch Race 10Km

 

Rank 1 Russia (BALABOLINA)

Rank 2 Lithuania (TREBAITE)

Rank 3 Mexico (ARREOLA NAVARRO)

 

Omnium VI – 500m Time Trial

 

Rank 1 Russia (BALABOLINA)

Rank 2 Great Britain (TROTT)

Rank 3 Poland (PAWLOWSKA)

UCI Track Cycling World Cup – Day 2 Report

Jessica Varnish of Great Britain leads Olivia Montauban of France in the Women’s Sprint 1/8 Finals. – ©Alex Broadway/SWPIX.COM

Men’s Keirin

 

GOLD – Germany (BOETTICHER)

SILVER – Team Jayco-AIS (LEWIS)

BRONZE – Japan (SAKAMOTO)

 

When the gold medal race eventually got underway – after a false start by Japan’s rider Takashi Sakamoto, a faulty gun and a few issues with the derny –  it was Australia’s Peter Lewis at the front and Kenny trailing in third. Once the derny left the track it was Kenny and German rider Stefan Boetticher who went head-to-head on the final lap. However, there was a dramatic twist as Kenny turned into Boetticher and crashed out taking France’s rider Quentin Lafargue with him. In the end Boetticher held his nerve and took the gold.

 

Earlier on there was more bad luck for British riders as Welshman Lewis Oliva crashed with Australia’s Andrew Taylor in the second round.

 

World Cup standings after 2 round:

 

  1. BOETTICHER (12 points)
  2. PUERTA (12 points)
  3. LAFARGUE (12 points)

 

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Women’s Sprint

 

GOLD – Germany (VOGEL)

SILVER – Great Britain (VARNISH)

BRONZE – Great Britain (JAMES)

 

The semi-final saw last night’s Team Sprint gold medallist Great Britain teammates Rebecca James and Jessica Varnish go head-to-head to earn a place in the gold medal race. After the first two legs of the semi-final the riders it was 1-1, with it all coming down to the decider. In a strong display by Varnish, she earned her place in the gold medal race.

 

Vogel took the shine out of Varnish in the opening race of the gold medal Women’s Sprint final with a solid performance. The second race followed the same vein as Varnish attempted to go out early with the sprint only for Vogel to come back and take the win and secure gold.

 

James took the first of three races with a solid performance but Lee came back in the second to force a deciding duel.

 

World Cup standings after 2 round:

 

  1. LEE (19 points)
  2. VARNISH (18 points)
  3. JAMES (18 points)

 

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Men’s Individual Pursuit

 

GOLD – Denmark (HANSEN) – 4:20.875

SILVER – Ireland (IRVINE) – 4:22.745

BRONZE – Spain (MUNTANER JUANEDA) – 4:28.429

 

Martyn Irvine and Lasse Norman Hansen went head-to-head for the gold. Hansen made the better start and grew a good lead by the first time check. The gap was not clawed back and the Dane took the win with ease – adding another gold medal to the Team Pursuit medal he achieved yesterday.

 

The bronze medal race started with Spanish rider David Muntaner Juaneda taking an early advantage and building a 2 second lead at the midway point. The gap was too much for the New Zealand rider Dylan Kennett to pull back and Muntaner Juaneda took the bronze.

 

World Cup standings after 2 round:

 

  1. HANSEN (12 points)
  2. IRVINE (10 points)
  3. MUNTANER JUANEDA (8 points)

 

===

 

Men’s Omnium

 

GOLD – Germany (LISS)

SILVER – Australia (O’SHEA)

BRONZE – Spain (ELORRIAGA ZUBIAUR)

 

Omnium IV – 4km Individual Pursuit

Rank 1 Great Britain (DIBBEN) – 4:26.982

Rank 2 Belgium (DE KETELE) – 4:28.908

Rank 3 Australia (O’SHEA) – 4:29.699

 

Omnium V – Scratch Race 15km

Rank 1 Denmark (KRIGBAUM)

Rank 2 Kazakstan (LYALKO)

Rank 3 Japan (HASHIMOTO)

 

Omnium VI – 1km Time Trail

Rank 1 Germany (LISS) – 1:02.768

Rank 2 Australia (O’SHEA) – 1:03.475

Rank 3 Great Britain (DIBBEN) – 1:03.955

 

Great Britain’s Jonathan Dibben came out on top in the individual pursuit, placing him in sixth in the overall Omnium standings. The race saw Belgium’s Kenny De Ketele and Australia’s Glenn O’Shea finish second and third respectively.

 

The scratch race started with the home crowd hoping for a win by fancied Jonathan Dibben. He faced stiff competition in world champion Australia rider Glenn O’Shea who was involved in a number of break-away groups in the early stages. In the end it was Mathias Wichmann Krigbaum, Alexey Lyalko and Eiya Hashimoto who succeeded in lapping the main group and went on to claim the top 3 positions.

 

Heading into the last event of the Omnium, the table was tight at the top with only 2 points separating the top three. Dibben put in a solid time and ended up third behind rank 1 Lucas Liss and rank 2 O’Shea.

 

After some fantastic racing over the six events, Germany’s Lucas Liss was too strong for the competition, taking the gold medal with Australia’s World Champion O’Shea taking silver and Spain’s Unai Elorriaga Zubiaur with the last place on the podium in bronze.

 

World Cup standings after 2 round:

 

  1. LISS (12 points)
  2. SIMION (12 points)
  3. O’SHEA (10 points)

 

 

Laura Trott of Great Britain competes in the Women’s Omnium Points Race 20Km – ©Alex Broadway/SWPIX.COM

 

Women’s Omnium

 

Omnium I – Flying Lap

Rank 1 Australian (ANKUDINOFF) – 14.340

Rank 2 Fullgass.org (OLABERRIA DORRONSORO) – 14.364

Rank 3 Poland (PAWLOWSKA) – 14.524

 

Omnium II – Points Race 20km

Rank 1 Bulguria (SHARAKOVA)

Rank 2 Lithuania (TREBAITE)

Rank 3 Mexico (ARREOLA NAVARRO)

 

Omnium III – Elimination Race

Rank 1 Great Britain (TROTT)

Rank 2 Poland (PAWLOWSKA)

Rank 3 Russia (BALABOLINA)

 

In the first of the women’s Omnium Flying Lap the current world champion came an unexpected fourth with the Australian, Ashlee Ankudinoff, taking the win with a solid performance.

 

Trott entered the Points Race as World and Olympic champion but faced tough competition from a strong field. In the end a couple 20 point lapping from the likes of Tatsiana Sharakova and Ausrine Trebaite were too much for Trott and she finished ninth.

 

The elimination race saw a rider go down hard and have to be taken off on a stretcher. After the restart Trott rode a great race with an enthralling sprint over the last lap to take the win.

 

The Omnium is set up well for the next stages tomorrow.

 

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UK BBC Broadcast Times

On Track in Mallorca

USA Women Training in Mallorca

A few weeks ago my boyfriend Jetse and I did a short visit to Mallorca, he had to do an intense block of training and the guys from Performance United have their training base there so I was excited to catch up with my sister Sofia!
It was impossible not to fall in love with the place, with those amazing views and all the mountains! We arrived at Sofia’s apartment in Alaró, such a nice little town.
Very close to her apartment is the Team House, the boys of the team live there and they also have a weight lifting room, with all the necessary equipment for track riders along with the fantastic watt bikes, and you can’t miss the flags of Ireland, USA, Turkey, Mexico and Spain decorating the room.

Sofia Arreola

We had time to catch up a little bit there with coach Andy Sparks while he was showing us the place and telling us all the advantages that came with training in Mallorca, he even invited Jetse for a ride with the guys.

To me it was clear why my sister doesn’t want to come back to train in Mexico after only a few hours of being there, the Island is really special for bike rides!!! But I was so excited and looking so much forward to go to the track and see the guys in action!

Andy Sparks

But that didn’t happen until the last day, meanwhile we had time to do some training, enjoy the sun and the beach and we even went for dinner with Jennie Reed and her hubby Brandon Madden, I have to admit I’m such a big fan of Jennie since long time ago when she was a sprinter but this is the first time I’d actually met her and had time to get to know her.

When I asked her, why did she make the change from sprinting to endurance she said she was looking for a new challenge and I think instead Jennie’s creating a challenge to other teams as she rocks in the team pursuit even as much as she did as a sprinter!

Anyways back to the track… The Palma Arena is such a cool place, the track is beautiful and you can feel the great atmosphere at their training sessions, you can hear everyone cheering for each other while they’re doing there efforts and giving tips to each other to improve… its just priceless! But I have to say the biggest supporters at the track are Brandon Madden and Kirk Bausch (husbands of Jennie Reed and Dotsie Bausch) you can hear they screaming “GO, GO, GO!!!” during the whole training.

While Sarah Hammer and Jennie Reed have basically made Mallorca their second home the rest of the Team Pursuit girls (Lauren Tamayo and Dotsie Bausch) come in special periods during the year, this time they were all together as they’re getting ready for London and yes… they are looking STRONG!

Other riders in the team also preparing for London are Martyn Irvine (Ireland) and David Muntaner (Spain), while Recep Unalan (Turkey) and Sofia Arreola (Mexico) are making next year’s World Cup season their major focus.

Coach Andy is looking very optimistic about the Games and I’m sure the boys and girls will get amazing results there, so excited to see them racing and I even got special t-shirts to support them along the way!

 

Thanks for reading!
 
 

Nancy talks to Manuel Ferrara

Manuel Ferrara pictured centre

Manuel Ferrara is a rider from Monterrey, México. He normally trains with me and my sisters in the Velodrome of Monterrey, I wanted to do an interview with him to share his story with all of you who are passionate about cycling but are not competitive riders. Arni (as we call him) rides in the Master Category and he was a multi-medalist in the Master Pan Am Champs this year.

 

How did you get into riding  a bike?

I actually started riding some years back due to knee injuries, the doctors gave me an option between swimming and biking as rehabing at Legacy rehab fort pierce and, since I swim about as good as a heavy rock I decided to bike. At first it was just for my health, and then I found a local cycling group, the Biscauch, that took me in after one of my friends invited me to join them, this was still recreational even though I had to actually train to even do the Sunday rides with them and not get dropped! After some time I got the hang of it but never really saw myself as a competitor in this sport, mostly because of my build. I am 5’6” and weigh 165 pounds, mostly due to weightlifting, a bit too heavy for all the uphill’s you know.

 

What made you take up cycling as a competitive sport and not only as a hobby? 

Your dad and coach Rolando Arreola actually did. He saw me sprint against one of the elite track riders during a Sunday ride and started sending me videos of track sprints… Chris Hoy, Theo Bos, you name it, big names that at the time meant nothing to me. Heck, I’d never even seen a track at that point, and this was only two and a half years ago…! I think it was mostly the adrenaline that lured me… that and the fact that my oldest daughter Karla is a competitive swimmer and the young one Sara started cycling. She had stopped Diving due to heel problems and one day Armando (Mandy) Menendez, her coach, and your dad insisted she had good potential for the track; this after looking at her once in street clothes at the bike shop and her never having ridden a bike! I believed them and convinced her to try track cycling and when she did I decided to try it myself. What the heck I figured we would both be new at it…

 

Tell me the challenges that you had to face to start racing.

Well, first of all, it was not easy to organize my time around work; I had to incorporate the specific leg training into my lifting routine twice a week which meant doing heavy squats at 5:30 in the morning if I wanted to do them at all. From there it was straight off to the Track and then shower and eat to be in the office at 9:30am. Second, I had to fend off old knee injuries to strengthen my legs and get into shape for the events I was aiming for. And then there was the bit about learning to ride a track bike… no brakes? No free wheel? Bankings, really?!?  These were all new to me and all things I was advised not to start trying at my age… ha! Finally, the awkwardness of being the only one not under the age of 23 trying this sport, at least here in Monterrey. There was no Masters Track Category to go race in!

 

Manuel Ferrara, Sofia Arreola & Rolando Arreola

What was it like to compete with the elite riders in Mexico?

Intimidating, scary and exciting!!! Where is the Masters Track League when you need one?!?

My first challenge was to not looking foolish in a sport they’d all mastered already. I did not want to be the old man that comes in way behind the young bunch but receives pity applause just for trying; I wanted to be like them, and even be one of them one day. These kids have no fear and still think they are made of steel or rubber, I don’t know, but nothing can faze them! So for me a decision had to be made, it was either put my fears and worries aside, think like they do and get on the track… or stay home! So I took to the track. Fortunately I seemed to resemble the image of a sprinter, so that helped a little at first… until the first race! A flop, but at least I did not come in last, which was comforting and gave me the motivation to go on with the project. Of course I would never have dared to do so without the support and guidance of you dad and you girls. I put my trust in him as a coach and fully believed he would not ask me to do anything I was not ready to, I left my pride aside and put up with being dropped by your sisters (Sofia & Chely) and you at training and just worked at hanging in there. Of course I’ve made my share of rookie mistakes along the way as the pressure of the events still gets to me, and my abilities have yet to be polished up, but I am slowly getting better; your dad has been very patient with me.

All in all it’s been a great experience… you have all taken me under your wings, your dad, the other coaches and the elites have taught me a lot about training and racing and I now feel like a part of the track community, all though it still feels funny to be called Tío (uncle) by every racer out on the bike.

 

How do you handle cycling and working?

It’s tough at times; I have made an effort to organize work around training and training around the meetings, and so forth… to do this I have to start the day early and get it all in before I go to the office, so I am leaving the track when the Elites are only starting their morning practice. I make it into the gym by 5:30am so I can fit it all in, they lift in the afternoons. I have no time to rest, let alone sleep after heavy work outs or even eat at the right times, but I try and do my best and live with what I can manage. Fortunately I have had a lot of help and understanding at the company and they have tolerated and even supported my efforts with rescheduling meetings and things when necessary which has been a life saver for me since there is a lot of training that needs to be done and the track is not exactly around the corner.

 

Team BICIS AH

What does your family think about you competing at the track?

Well, they worry for me since they have seen their share of bike crashes, they have seen me come back from the hospital after one of them and they know that it is all part of the sport and a risk that will not go away. But they understand of course since they are all athletes themselves; my wife was a European Champion in swimming, my oldest daughter will soon be going to Boston University on a Swimming scholarship and is a National Champion in her discipline and, my youngest daughter has made her mark in cycling by winning at Track Nationals in her age group as well. So it follows that they understand my need to be competitive and, even give me a hard time for being the only one in the family without a gold medal. Something I hope I can change in the upcoming seasons.

 

What are your plans for next season?

I will work to get stronger and faster, continue with the ongoing schedule we have laid out and either go to the Masters Pan Am Games in the fall or aim straight for the Masters World Championships in Manchester. It all depends on the number of team mates we manage to round up and the dates of the events. I will probably participate in some Elite Track cups during the spring and summer as well where I will try to better my times and the 8th and 10th places I have managed so far. A top 5 at the Elite Nationals would be sweet although it seems ambitious; hey, one has to have goals and dreams!

 

Do you have a favorite quote that you read or think about before racing? 
I actually have many, I have always liked quotes as they provide good motivation, but my all-time favorite is still:

“Because talent alone won’t take you to the top and luck won’t last forever… perseverance is what winners are made of.”

Of course a new found one due to my present age and the contrast to those around me is this one:
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

 

Can you give any tips to other people interested in cycling who don’t know how to combine it with their work?

I have found it to be true that in cycling the time you spend on the bike is directly proportional to the level you can acquire; so go out there and bike, have fun, figure out where you are at and what you want out of this sport and then do what it takes to get there. Whether it’s recreational, to get into shape and maintain health or to be competitive, the main thing is that you enjoy it, then, it will not be such a sacrifice to find the odd hours you need to fit your rides in, train and still make it to work on time.

 

Thank you very much for your time and for sharing part of your story with us, we will keep following your progress in cycling and wish you all the best! 

Sofia Arreola in the pursuit of her Olympic Dream

We are in the sprinting line on our way to the Olympic Games of London. Sofia has to participate in the four World Cups, Pan American Championship and the World Championship in order to make enough points to qualify.

The qualification system its complicated, it’s a ranking for Continents. The American continent has 5 places for the women’s omnium and we have Sarah Hammer (USA), Tara Whitten (Canada) and Marlies Mejias (Cuba) that have secured their places for the Olympics in the last season. The big dispute is between Angy Gonzalez (Venezuela), the Colombian Maria Luisa Calle and Sofia Arreola (Mexico).

Sofi hopes to finish in the top 10 of the World Cups and World Championship in order to finish within the first five in the Pan American Ranking.

Training base in 

Mallorca
Mallorca is a perfect place for training; it has high mountains as well as flat and safe roads to do nice and long rides to improve the endurance. Mallorca has 2 different tracks where you can train and improve different things.

Sofia is currently training under the direction of Andy Sparks in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Supported by the Mexican Cycling Federation and the National Sports Commission.

The training objectives are to improve power and endurance for individual events of the omnium. Training with Sarah Hammer and riders from Turkey and Ireland has made significant changes in Sofia as she has improved both her power and her endurance on the track. In the last Pan American Games in Guadalajara 2011, Sofi showed the progress when she won the silver medal.

First World: Astana


In Astana, as in all World Cups, you need to do a points race of 40 laps in order to qualify to the finals in the omnium, they have 2 heats and the best 12 of each heat get to ride the finals. Sofia was 4th in her qualifying heat, showing again her progress in her endurance.
The omnium started with 24 riders, all the best girls of the world were there only two big names were missing: Tara Whitten and Sarah Hammer they both decided to start their season in the 2nd World Cup in Cali. 

Sofia was looking strong but performed poorly in the elimination race and finished 13th overall at the end.

2nd World Cup: Cali, Colombia


For this World Cup Andy and Sofi planned to do the scratch race in addition to the omnium. The scratch race is an official event in the World Championships but not in the Olympics, this is one of Sofia’s favorites events and she can perform really good in it as well.

You also need to do a qualification ride before riding the finals, 2 heats where only the first 10 of each heat can go to the finals. Sofia was second in her heat and was ready to give everything in the next race.
The final had 20 riders, the best riders in the world for sure. She was trying to control the race from start to finish and maybe worked too much, 4 riders went into the break away and she managed to win the bunch sprint to finish 5th place, this complies in part with the goal set by Andy for this World Cup.

The next day begins with the qualifying for the omnium. Sofia had to ride the heat with the best two riders of the specialty (World Champ Tara Whitten and multiple World Cup Champ Sarah Hammer) She managed to qualify and had a very regular start in the first event (250m flying lap). In the second event (points race) she finished in 5th place, Sofi improved her chances in the general classification and she was getting closer to the top 10 she wanted.

In the next event (elimination race), a race that is usually very complicated as every rider starts the race full gas because every 2 laps the last rider gets eliminated. The excitement of the riders as well as their desire to win caused several crashes, Sofi was involved in one of them. She hit the wall of the track injuring her back, right arm and finger and so had to end her participation in this World Cup.

Sofi is currently in 3rd place in the world ranking of the scratch race and she is looking forward to top that at the World Championships in Australia but her main focus is to make more points for the Olympics, she still wants to secure top 10 in the next two World Cups in Beijing and the Olympic test of London.

There are now four more races where she can collect Olympic points: the next two World Cups, the PanAm Champs and the World Champs it will be a hard and close fight between the riders because everyone is working harder than ever before to get there but we are sure that Sofia can achieve her goal and make her Olympic dream a reality in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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